Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-05-18
DOWN HE WENT WITH A SPLASH.

shout Of delight from the crowd, who always
like to see an aggressor laid low, his head
humping with considerable force against the
Intel of the door. For moment he lay still,
and John was afraid that the man was really
hurt. Presently, however, he rose, and with
out attempting any further hostile demonstra-
tion or saying a single word, tramped off
toward the house, leaving his enemy to COM
pose his ruff1ed nerves as best he could. Now,
John, like most gentlemen, hated q row with
all his heart though he had the Anglo-Saxon
tendency to 60 through with it unfinchingly
when once it began. Indeed, the whole thing
irritated him beyond bearing, for lie knew
that the story would, with additions, 60 the
round of the country side, and, what is more,
that he had made powerful and implacable
enemy. ..
"This is all your fault, you drunken little
blackguard" he said, turning savasely on the
tottie, who, now that his excitement had left
him, was sniveling and driveling in an in
toxicated fashion, and calling him his pre-
server and his baas IN maudlin accents.
"He hit me, baas; he hit ME, and did not
take the forage. He is bad man, Baas
Muller"
"Be off with you and get tho horses in
and, having seen the operation advancing to
a conclusion, he went to the sitting room OF
the hotel, where Bessie was waiting in happy
ignorance Of the disturbance. 1t was not till
they were well on t, cir homeward way that
he told her what had passed, whereat, remem-
bering the scene she had herself gone through
with Frank Muller, and the threats that lie
had then made use of, she looked very grave.
Her old uncle, too, was much put out when
he heard the story on their arrival home that
evening.
"You have made all enemy, Capt. Mel"
he said, "and bad one. Not but what you
were right to stand up for the Hottentot I
would have done as much myself had been
there and ten years younger, but Frank Null
Ter is not the man to forget being put upon
his back before a lot Of Kafflrs and white folk
too Perhaps that Jantje is sober by now"
This conversation took place upon the follow
ing morning, as they sat upon the veranda
after breakfast. II will 60 and call him, and
we will hear what this story is about his
father and his mother"
Presently he returned, followed by the rag
ged, dirty looking little Hottentot, who took
off his hat and squatted down OH the drive,
looking very miserable and ashamed Of him
self, in the full glare Of the African sun, to
the effects Of which he appeared to be totally
impcrvious.
"Now, Jantje, listen to me-" said the old
man. Yesterday you got drunk again.
Well, I'm not going to talk about that now,
except to say that if find or hear Of your
being drunk once more-you leave this
place"
"Ycs, baas," said the Hottentot meekly. II
was drunk, though not very; only had half
bottle of Cape Smoke"
"By getting drunk you made a quarrel with
Baas Muller, so that blows passed between
BaaS Muller and the baas here on your ac-
count, which was more THAN you are worth.
Now when Baas Muller had struck you, you
said that he had shot your father and your
mother. Was that lie, or what did you
mean by saying it,"
.It was no lic baas," said the Hottentot,
e1citedly. II have said it once, and I will
say it again. Listen, baas, and will tell you
the story. When I was young, so highland
he held his hand high enough to indicate
tottie about IA years of ase-"we, that is,
my father, my mother, my uncle very old
man, older than the baas pointing to Silas
croft, "were bijwoners (authorized squat
lSlsJ Oh pI1SC w oAu oe@Soo H'AohSAf
Baas Franks father, down in Lydenburg
yonder 1t was a bush veldt farm, and old
Jacob used to come down there with his cattle
from the High veldt in the winter when there
was no grass in the High veldt, and with him
came the Englshwoman, his wife, and the
young Baas Frank-the baas we SOW yester-
day: , u,., A.,
Croft.
Jantje counted on his fingers for some Sec
onds, and then held up his hand and opened
it four times i'll succession. $50" he said,
"twenty years last winter. Baas Frank was
young then; lie had only little down upon
his chin. One year, when Om Jacob went
away, alter the first rains, he left six oxen
that were too poor ithin) to 60 with my faith
er, and told him to look after them as though
they were his children. But the oxen were
bewitchcd. Three OF them took the lunGsick
and died, lion got one, snake killed one,
and one ate tulip and died too. SO when
ON Jacob came back the next year all the
oxen were gone. He was very angry with
my father, and beat him with a yoke strap
till he was all blood, and, though we showed
him the bones of the oxen he said that we
had stolen them and sold them.
"Now, Om Jacob had beautiful span OF
black oxen that he loved like children. Six
teen of them were there, and they wou'd
come up to the yoke when he called them aud
put down their heads of themselves. They
were tame as dogs. These oxen were thin
when they came down, but in two months
they got fat and began to want to trek about
as oxen do At this time there was Basutu,
one Of ScQuatiS people, resting in our hut,
for he had hurt his foot with thorn. When
Om Jacob found that the Basutu was there
he was very angry, Tor he said that all Basu-